Jordan's Cabinet Reshuffle Includes 9 Portfolios

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh speaks during a joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh speaks during a joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Jordan's Cabinet Reshuffle Includes 9 Portfolios

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh speaks during a joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh speaks during a joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh announced on Monday a fourth government reshuffle that included nine ministerial portfolios.

According to a royal decree, Dr. Wajih Awais was appointed as Minister of Education, Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh was named Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, while Yousef Mahmoud Al-Shamali became the new Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply.

Faisal Yousef Awad Shboul was appointed as Minister of State for Information Affairs, Haifa Yousef Fadel Hajjar Al-Najjar, Minister of Culture, and Wafaa Saeed Yaqoub Bani Mustafa, Minister of State for Legal Affairs.

The Jordanian prime minister also named Dr. Muawiya Khaled Muhammad Al-Radaydah as Minister of Environment, Eng. Khairy Yasser Abdel Moneim Amr, Minister of Investment and Nayef Istitieh, Minister of Labor.

Al-Khasawneh had asked his ministers on Sunday to submit their resignations ahead of the cabinet reshuffle, in parallel with the government’s preparations to face the Parliament with the launching of its upcoming regular session in mid-November.

Shboul, the new minister of State for Information Affairs, succeeded to Sakhr Dodin, whose statements over the past few months sparked local controversy, and wide comments.

Shboul has extensive experience in the local and Arab press and had assumed senior positions in the Jordan News Agency (Petra) and the Radio Television Corporation over the past twenty years. He was also a media spokesperson at a number of summits hosted by Amman.

Bisher Al-Khasawneh was designated to form the government around a year ago. He previously assumed a position at the office of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, following a diplomatic experience as the kingdom’s ambassador to Cairo and Paris.



Jordan Foreign Minister Safadi to Visit Damascus on Monday

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024.  EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
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Jordan Foreign Minister Safadi to Visit Damascus on Monday

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024.  EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will visit Damascus on Monday and meet with Syria's de facto new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a post on X.
Al-Sharaa began outlining his first government after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, appointing a close ally and founding member of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, as Foreign Minister in the interim government.
He also appointed Aisha al-Dabbas, the first woman in his government, and assigned her a newly created office focused on women's affairs.
He also appointed Marhaf Abu Qasra as Minister of Defense, and Azam Gharib, as Governor of Aleppo.
Foreign governments began reaching out to the new regime in Damascus, shortly after the United States announced the cancellation of a $10 million reward for the arrest of al-Sharaa over alleged involvement in terrorism.